Tag: Ford Mustang

Turbocharged Prototype: The 1980 M81 McLaren Mustang – Ben Branch @Silodrome

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This is the M81 McLaren Mustang prototype, it’s the first of a planned 250 cars that were built as a partnership between McLaren Engines and Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO). Just 10 vehicles were built in the end due to the high price, and today they’re among the rarest production Mustangs ever made.

McLaren Engines had been established in the United States in 1969 by New Zealand racing legend Bruce McLaren, also the founder of the famous Formula One team of the same name. McLaren Engines focussed on American racing series like Can-Am and Indy Car, and they consulted with many major American automakers.

Fast Facts – The M81 McLaren Mustang Prototype

The M81 McLaren Mustang was developed by Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) with significant input from McLaren Engines. The car would be one of the fastest and wildest production Mustangs of its era.
In order to build the M81 McLaren Mustang a standard 1980 Fox Body Mustang was taken, steel fender flares were added along with front and rear brake ducting in the bodywork, BBS wheels, adjustable Koni shock absorbers, heavy-duty sway bars, heavy-duty springs, uprated brakes front and back, and a bolt-in roll bar.
The standard 2.3 liter turbocharged inline-four cylinder engine was taken by McLaren Engines and fully disassembled. The head was ported and polished, it was de-burred and blueprinted, and fitted with a new variable turbo that could produce from 5 to 11 PSI – adjustable from inside the car.
All of this work created one of the most memorable Mustangs of the time however it didn’t come cheap, with a sticker price of $25,000 USD in 1980, the equivalent to $91,576 USD in 2023. As a result just 10 were made of the originally planned 250.

McLaren Engines

McLaren Engines was founded by Bruce McLaren in Detroit in 1969. It was established to be the primary facility for the McLaren racing efforts in the United States, while McLaren in England remained focussed on the company’s Formula One racing program

The M81 McLaren Mustang was clearly a Fox Body however it benefitted from a serious styling revamp both inside and out, and it had a much more powerful engine under the hood.

Although today the name McLaren is most famous for its long history in F1, the impact that McLaren Engines had on the North American racing scene was immense. The company built engines for McLaren’s Can-Am cars, for Indy cars, and for countless other racing teams and series.

McLaren would win five consecutive Cam-Am championships, they built engines for three Indianapolis 500 winners, and they developed the turbocharged variant of the mighty Cosworth DFV engine that powered Indy cars for both Team McLaren and Penske Racing.

McLaren Engines was acquired by Canada-based Linamar Corporation and it remains operational today as a subsidiary, working with North American automakers on engine development.

Developing The M81 McLaren Mustang

The McLaren name was well-known in the United States in the 1970s thanks to the successes of Team McLaren in Can-Am racing. The team’s bright “Papaya Orange” cars had dominated for years, all powered by highly-modified American V8s.

This is the 2.3 liter turbocharged inline-four. It originally produced 131 bhp however after McLaren were done with it it was making 175 bhp, and was capable of more still.

The M81 McLaren Mustang was conceived as a sort of 1980s version of the Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, now among the most desirable muscle cars ever made. Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) unit was founded in the early 1980s and the M81 would be their first major project.

The M81 would be followed in 1984 by the Ford Mustang SVO which was sold in much higher numbers, with almost 10,000 made between ’84 and ’86. In the United States, and around the world, new emissions restrictions and fuel efficiency standards meant that the large-displacement V8s of years gone by wouldn’t cut it, and new engine technologies were needed.

For the new Fox Body Mustang Ford had developed the 2.3 liter inline-four with a turbocharger that made almost as much power as the 4.9 liter V8, with 131 bhp vs 139 bhp. In 1980 the world was turned on its head when the V8 was lowered in displacement to 4.2 liters, and the power output dropped – for the first time a four-cylinder Mustang was more powerful than the V8 version.

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No, There’s No Such Thing As a 1964-1/2 Ford Mustang – Daniel Strohl @Hemmings

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The designation’s so widespread, it’s almost become gospel among Mustang enthusiasts and the collector car world in general. You’ll see 1964-1/2 as a model year in the titles of Mustang books, in prior Hemmings articles (nostra culpa), even on Ford’s own website. Except, officially, Ford never designated any Mustang as a 1964-1/2 model year car.

“All of the first production Mustangs built from February 10, 1964, through July 31, 1964, were titled as 1965 model year cars,” according to Robert Fria, an expert in pre-production and early production Mustangs who wrote the definitive book on the subject, “Mustang Genesis: The Creation of the Pony Car.” As Fria and many others have pointed out, just looking at the VIN of any early production Mustang should bear that out: All of them – whether the one Fria discovered with serial number 100002 or the one that Captain Stanley Tucker bought with serial number 100001 – start with the digit 5 for the 1965 model year.

Ford Media’s caption describes this Mustang as a prototype, which is likely why we see the “1964” license plate on it.
Ford Media image

Case closed, really short article, right? So then why did the 1964-1/2 “model year” become so widespread to the point where it gets its own entry in year-by-year Mustang reference books and where the Mustang Club of America reportedly considers 1964-1/2 as a separate model year?

Part of it comes down to the introduction of the Mustang in April 1964, well out of line with the traditional model year cycle: The rest of the 1965 Fords didn’t debut until that September. While unusual in comparison with prevailing trends through the rest of the industry, it was actually in line with Ford’s mid-year introductions of the Falcon Futura and Galaxy 500XL Sports Hardtop the year prior, as Brad Bowling pointed out in the “Standard Catalog of Mustang” (which, incidentally, has an entire section on the “1964-1/2” Mustang). Indeed, given the success of such introductions – the Mustang essentially had the field to itself when it came to new-car publicity that spring, and that introduction date may have even been key to the avalanche of first-year sales – one has to wonder why we haven’t seen many subsequent mid-year introductions. (Outside of unintentional ones like the 1970-1/2 Camaro, its introduction delayed by a strike.)

Speaking of sales, Ford reported a total of 680,989 first-year Mustang sales, though that total is comprised of the 121,538 early Mustangs sold prior to the traditional start of the 1965 model year and the 559,451 sold during the 1965 model year.

Part of it also arises from the many changes that Ford introduced to the Mustang around the start of traditional 1965 model year production, leading enthusiasts to start referring to the early Mustangs as “1964-1/2” cars simply to differentiate them from the regular production year cars. Those early cars, for instance, had a much different engine lineup, consisting of the U-code 101hp one-barrel 170-cu.in. six-cylinder, the F-code 164hp two-barrel 260-cu.in. V-8, the D-code 210hp four-barrel 289-cu.in. V-8, and the famed K-code 271hp four-barrel 289-cu.in. V-8. Once regular 1965 model year production started, only the K-code remained; the T-code 120hp 200-cu.in. six-cylinder replaced the U-code, the C-code 200hp two-barrel 289-cu.in. V-8 replaced the F-code, and the A-code 225hp four-barrel 289-cu.in. V-8 replaced the D-code. In addition, all early 1965 Mustangs had generators while all regular production year 1965 Mustangs came equipped with alternators.

Mustang enthusiasts generally use engine codes and the presence of a generator to distinguish early from regular production 1965 cars, but a host of other changes took place in late summer 1964. Bowling notes a number of those changes, including the switch from C-clips for the interior door handles to Allen screws, slightly wider Mustang nameplates, and the switch from interior-color to chrome door lock buttons. Others have noted that regular production model year cars had an adjustable front passenger seat in place of the earlier fixed seat, that the early cars equipped with automatic transmissions had smaller shifter handles, and that the fuel-filler cap was given a tether to make it more theft-resistant. By far the most comprehensive accounting of the changes appears to be in Colin Date’s book, “Original Mustang, 1964-1/2 – 1966,” in which he points out, for instance, slight sheetmetal changes at the base of the windshield wipers, the switch from rubber to plastic trunk mats, color-keyed seat belt latches replacing chromed latches, different AM radios, and the brake light switch location moving off of the master cylinder. Even paint colors and codes changed quite a bit from early to regular production 1965 cars.

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Why is the 319-hp Shelby GT hotter than the 500-hp GT500? – Conner Golden @Hagerty

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Thought experiment:

Two distinctly modern Shelby Mustangs, produced during parallel model years with a set of stripes and goosed-up V-8s. One was a Shelby-licensed Ford factory effort: a comprehensively engineered, 500-hp, supercharged, stick-axle snake that was, for a moment, the most powerful production muscle-car on the planet. The other is a true Shelby-modified ’Stang, marginally more than an aesthetic package with some quality bolt-ons.

Which would you expect to be more collectible? The 500-hp monster, right? Correct!

Well, kind of. Maybe. It’s complicated.

2007 Shelby GT, sold for $23,100 in RM Sotheby’s Open Roads, North America sale in July 2020. RM Sotheby’s

As you probably gleaned from the headline and that pretty pony in the lead image, these mystery Mustangs are the 2007–2009 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the 2007–2008 Shelby GT (SGT). And, if you determine collectability by which trades hands for more cash, then yes, the GT500 is the obvious winner with overall higher values across all conditions, according to the Hagerty Valuation Tool.

The money favors the big, beefy GT500, but something’s happening with the lesser-known Shelby GT. Both ’Stangs have increased their values since 2020, but the understudy SGT has outpaced the GT500 in appreciation.

Pause for a moment—here’s some context before we get nerdy with the numbers. In the mid-2000s, the Mustang brand was arguably the strongest it’d been in decades, with the newly-launched S197-generation Mustang (2005–2013) ushering a surge of sales from a horde of new and returning Mustang owners looking to mainline a fat dose of nostalgia with the S197’s neo-retro design.

The time was right for a Shelby resurgence. Despite a successful turn at hopping-up Omnis, Chargers, and Dakotas for Chrysler, Carroll Shelby’s surname hadn’t graced the decklid of a Mustang in any capacity since Shelby legally re-VIN’d 789 unsold 1969 GT500s as model year 1970. The S197 reawakened Shelby’s relationship with the Mustang, first with the rare 2005 CS6 and CS8 Mustang packages, and shortly thereafter with a 21st-century rekindling of his bonds with Ford and Hertz. The two corporate giants teamed up with the famed Mustang maestro for the 2006 Shelby GT-H, a limited 500-unit run of Shelby-fied black-and-gold Mustang GTs exclusively for Hertz’s rental fleets that recalled the original Shelby-Hertz partnership from 1966.

A year later, Ford and Shelby collaborated again on the 2007–2008 Shelby GT as a commercially-available production version of the former GT-H—which, by the way, returned to Hertz’s fleet for the 2007 model year configured only as a convertible. For SGT production, Ford followed in the spirit of the Shelby Mustangs of 1960s yore by shipping new Mustang GTs straight from the factory to Shelby’s facility in Las Vegas for the hop-up kit.

A new intake, ECU, and exhaust squeezed another 19 hp and 10 lb-ft of torque out of the GT’s 4.6-liter V-8 for a total of 319 hp and 330 lb-ft. Upgraded springs, dampers, and thicker sway bars from a Ford Performance suspension kit significantly improved handling. Aesthetically, the rear spoiler was deleted and a new retro-style hood scoop, chrome five-spoke American Racing-style wheels, a new grille, and rear diffuser were added. Inside, the requisite Shelby commemorative plaque sits on the dash above a classic cue-ball shifter.

So, it’s best to consider the SGT a “Mustang GT-Plus” with Shelby bona fides. It never had its time at the top of the hierarchy however, as the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 also landed on U.S. tarmac in 2007. Developed almost entirely in-house by Ford’s Special Vehicles Team (SVT) with only consultation and licensing from Shelby, the new GT500 was fully built by Ford at its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant. Differences over its siblings were substantial: a supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 ripped the rear tires with 500 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque, bigger Brembo brakes, and an aggressive suspension with revised springs and dampers to manage the added heft and power. It also sported a vented hood, different front fascia, and rear spoiler, along with its own unique wheels and tires

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Fox Body Mustang: The Complete Breakdown – Sam Weber @Steeda

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There hasn’t been a new Fox Body Mustang in a Ford showroom for almost 30 years, but this third-generation pony car remains popular with enthusiasts and tuners for several reasons. The Fox Body Mustang runs from 1979-1993 model years. And, Mustang lovers appreciate that the Fox Body is:

Plentiful: Despite Fox Bodies going back to 1979, cars and Fox Body Mustang parts are readily available.
Affordable: The Fox Body offers a reasonably priced Mustang experience for both collecting and modifying.
Uncomplicated: The straightforward nature of the Fox Body platform and mechanicals makes for easy repairs and mods.

With this in mind, let’s look at the history of the Fox Body Mustang and its origins. We’ll answer your “what is a Fox Body” questions on Ford’s longest-running generation of Mustang.

The Beginning Fox Body Designs Conflict Through The Years

With this in mind, let’s look at the history of the Fox Body Mustang and its origins. We’ll answer your “what is a Fox Body” questions on Ford’s longest-running generation of Mustang.

1976 Mustang Fox Body Concept Car

Let’s head back to the mid-1970s when the U.S. had just come off the first oil embargo that caused oil prices to increase by 300%. At the same time, the effects of the federal Clean Air Act were imposing stricter emission standards and limiting engine performance. The initial waves of the Japanese auto invasion also gained strength as consumers could choose from import sports cars like the Datsun 240Z.

Add in that the Pinto-based second-generation Mustang II was underwhelming consumers, and Ford executives were undoubtedly enjoying heartburn and sleepless nights. So, the need for a re-invigorated Mustang was paramount for the automaker to stay competitive. The race was on to develop the third-generation Mustang.

It began in 1975 when Ford veteran Jack Telnack was tasked to be the chief designer of the third-gen Mustang. Fresh from his company assignments in Europe and Australia, Telnack had visions of a completely new Mustang with design influences from the Old Continent. At the same time, company honcho Henry Ford II mandated specific body characteristics like a blunt front end from earlier Mustangs.

Fox Body Designs Conflict With Henry Ford II’s Instructions

“Thou shalt never do a slantback front end. Henry Ford II only wants vertical front end, and he’ll show us the door if we ever try anything like it.” Ford vice president of design Gene Bordinat was quoted saying in a 2013 Road & Track article. Further complicating Telnack’s task was the requirement that his new creation uses the new Fox Body platform that would first appear in 1978 with the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr.

Three separate design teams were formed to develop new looks for the Mustang. This included one group based out of the company’s Ghia design studios in Italy, which Ford had acquired in 1970. Design concepts ranged from a fastback coupe to a Mustang station wagon with “woody” body panels. Yes, there could have been a Mustang wagon.

In a HowStuffWorks story, Telnack recounts how he had to convince Henry Ford II of the proposed Mustang’s aero looks as a better choice than the boxy designs of old Mustangs. “I consider the ’79 Mustang a breakthrough car. It was the first project I worked on when I returned from Europe. It was such a departure from anything we were doing here.” Telnack would later go on to design the groundbreaking 1986 Ford Taurus and its jelly-bean body style.

Fox Body Mustang: Through The Years

The 1979 Mustang launched the Fox Body era for Ford’s pony car. We’ll take a year-by-year stroll through history as we explore Fox Body Mustang specs and other essential details. We’ll also point out many of the horsepower and torque numbers, but if you’re looking for more detail, check out our full breakdown of Fox Body Horsepower & Torque Numbers.

1979 Mustang: Details

Ford opened the third generation of the Mustang for the 1979 model year with a dizzying array of engine choices and a completely new car inside and out. Top power comes from the venerable Windsor 4.9L V-8, making 139 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque with a reported 8.3 second time for a 0-60 run. At launch, other powerplant choices include the Cologne 2.8L V-6 with 104 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque and a 2.3L I-4 with 89 hp and 120 lb-ft of torque. A turbo version of the four-banger was offered, which produced 130 hp and 165 lb-ft of torque.

Midway through 1979, the Cologne V-6 was swapped for a 3.3L straight-six with 89 hp and 143 lb-ft of torque. The Mustang was offered in both notchback and fastback body styles. Be sure to check out the Steeda article revolving around the Notchback vs Hatchback when it comes to Fox Body Mustangs.

Special editions for 1979 include the hatchback-only Cobra, which had the turbo-four under the hood, and the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica. The first Mustang Indy pace car since 1964, buyers could choose from the V-8 or turbo-four.

1980 Mustang: Details

The second year of the Fox Body Mustang saw no significant changes other than saying goodbye to the Windsor V-8. This powerplant was replaced with a small-block 4.2L V-8 (a neutered version of the Windsor) that offered only 119 hp and 194 lb-ft of torque.

Special editions for 1980 included a tweaked Cobra that had elements from the ’79 Indy pace car: modified grille, hood treatment, and rear spoiler. Thanks to a $25,000 price tag, only five copies of the M81 MacLaren Mustang were sold. However, the M81 did serve as the foundation for Ford’s special vehicle options (SVO) unit

1981 Mustang: Details

For 1981, Mustang carried with no virtually unchanged other than the addition of a t-top roof option and that the turbo-four was entirely dropped from the engine lineup. Cobra power now comes only from the 4.2L V-8. Interestingly, hatchback sales have now exceeded notchback sales for the first time. The trend will continue for the remainder of the Fox Body generation.

1982 Mustang: Details

To the relief of enthusiasts, 1982 Mustang specs include the return of the Windsor V-8, now called the 5.0 H.O. (high output) engine. At the same time, the Mustang GT is relaunched. This legendary combination is one of the hallmarks of the Fox Body Mustang, although the 5.0 could be ordered as a stand-alone option. All things seemed right with the world as the new engine was rated for 157 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. Ford reworked the Mustang’s trim levels with the base L available only in the notchback, while the upscale G.L. and GLX could be ordered in either body style. The 2.3L four-cylinder and the 3.3L straight-six carried on unchanged.

1983 Mustang: Details

1983 marks important updates to America’s favorite sports car. After a decade-long absence, a Mustang convertible is returned to the lineup, while a mid-cycle refresh included a new front end and updated taillights. Improvements continue for the Fox Body Mustang as the 5.0 engine now makes 175 hp and 245 lb-ft of torque. The Essex 3.8L V-6, with 112 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque, becomes the sole six-cylinder engine for the Mustang.

Special editions include the Turbo GT, which saw the return of a boosted four-cylinder engine making 145 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to less power and a higher price than the 5.0, the Turbo GT never took off.

1984 Mustang: Details

There were no significant changes for 1984 among standard Mustangs. The base L model could now be ordered in either notchback or hatchback body style and the mid-tier G.L. and GLX models were blended into a single LX trim. In addition, the Essex V-6 became standard equipment for the convertible.

1984 is perhaps most memorable for special-edition Mustangs. Beyond the carryover Turbo GT, buyers could choose the memorable SVO Mustang (with a turbo four-cylinder making 175 hp and 210 lb-ft of torque) or the 20th Anniversary GT (with a choice of non-SVO turbo four or the 5.0L V-8).

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The Pony Express Ford’s Mid-engine Mustang – The Real Back Story – Michael Lamm @TheAutoChannel

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Author Michael Lamm recounts the development of Ford’s 196 Mustang the first mid-engine throust toward Total Performance.

People have tried for years to weave a connection between the Ford Mustang I-the knee-high 2-seater in which Dan Gurney lapped Watkins Glen in 1962-and the production Mustang that came out in May 1964.

Well, forget it. There ain’t no connection, or at best precious little. Other than the name, the horsey emblem, and the side scoops, the Mustang I didn’t contribute to the production car in any rational way. The little Mustang I did lead Ford into the GT40 program, though, and was emblematic of a performance and marketing bonanza that soon became known as Total Performance.

The Mustang I was created, it turns out, as an early component of Ford’s Total Performance buildup. According to retired Ford engineer Robert D. Negstad, who worked on the Mustang I and was later part of the team that developed the 7-liter Shelby Cobra, “The people who came out of (the Mustang I group) went on to win Le Mans…. They learned their craft and their skills in that Mustang I project. It was a labor of love….”

Horse of a Different Color

To begin at the beginning, around 1960 a Ford product planner named Don Frey became disturbed that the company was losing its performance image, especially among younger buyers. Hotrodders had given up the flathead Ford V8 in favor of smallblock Chevys and Chrysler Hemis. Sports-car enthusiasts were buying imports and Corvettes. Ford was becoming an old-maid car company.

So Frey expressed his concern to Robert S. McNamara, Ford’s car and truck VP, and to Henry Ford II, the company president. Frey also rallied a number of other Ford executives, key among them vice presidents Gene Bordinat (design) and Herb Misch (engineering). Frey’s message, in effect, was “Hey, fellas, we’ve got a marketing problem. Let’s do something to polish up Ford’s styling and performance

Designer Bordinat immediately got busy. Ford’s studios were turning out an armada of showcars-as many as one a week, most of them fiberglass rollers minus powertrains. Often these projects came in response to design competitions routinely held among Ford’s various studios. But for a competition in January 1962, Bordinat asked his styling chiefs to submit concepts for something new: a small, no-holds-barred sports car.

One of the designers was John Najjar, now retired after a career with Ford going back to the late ’30s. “We had a studio under Bob Maguire,” Najjar explains, “and in it were Jim Darden, Ray Smith, plus an artist, Phil Clark, several modelers, and me. We drew up a 2-seater sports car in competition with the other studios, and when they saw ours-saw the blackboard with a full-sized layout and sketches- they said, ‘That’s it! Let’s build it.’ So we made a clay model, designed the details, and then built a fiberglass prototype.” This car was simply a concept study rather than the final configuration, but it included a lot of the sporty, rakish flair the later showcar embodied.

With the performance kettle starting to simmer in Dearborn, VP of Design Bordinat decided to take this 2-seat concept further and build it into a showable prototype. To that end he invited his opposite number in engineering, Herb Misch, to come over and take a look.

Misch got excited as well, and he selected a special-projects wizard named Roy Lunn to head up the creation of a complete prototype. Lunn would act as liaison between the styling and engineering sides and oversee the building of the car.

By now it was early May of ’62, and the car had even earned a name: Mustang, suggested by John Najjar. Ford insiders actually referred to it as the Mustang Sports Car, and it wasn’t until the 4-place 1963 Mustang II concept car came out that people began calling the 2-seater Mustang I retroactively.

The Mustang I advanced quickly from concept sketches to package drawings conforming with the engineering specifications that were being laid down simultaneously. Najjar recalls that his studio’s full-sized drawings contained the suggestion of a tubular spaceframe, and Ray Smith, the studio engineer, added the popup headlights, retractable license plate, fixed seats, and adjustable-reach steering and pedals.

Fueled primarily on enthusiasm-the budget for the project being virtually nonexistent-in short order Ford had a fiberglass prototype of their 2-seat sports car. Initially no one knew whether the prototype would be developed into a runner or not, but by mid-summer Misch and Bordinat decided that in either case they wanted to display the car at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen on 7 October 1962.

At that point the project still had no budget and only the fuzziest of goals: to show up at Watkins Glen on race day. But on that goal alone Roy Lunn quickly assembled a team and dedicated them to building a finished showcar in the remarkable time of just 100 working days.

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Prototype Mustang built for Henry Ford II: See what makes it so UNIQUE | Barn Find Hunter – Hagerty Media

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Tom Cotter has shifted gears for the latest episode of Barn Find Hunter, leaving dusty sheds and rusty sheetmetal in favor of a tour of Detroit landmarks and some noteworthy cars that were designed, engineered, and built in and around the Motor City. His first vehicular deep dive is a look into the history of a very special 1965 Mustang that was built for and owned by Henry Ford II.

The car in question has been owned by Art Cairo, a longtime Ford employee who bought the unique pony car 45 years ago for just $500. Cairo had the car restored and replaced any rotted sheetmetal with new-old stock that he went to great length and expense to track down, making sure that this piece of history is still all Ford.

Cairo shows Tom some of the unique details that set this coupe apart from the millions of other Mustangs built in the ’60s. Perhaps most apparent is the leather interior, which wasn’t offered on early Mustangs. The door jamb also reveals chrome door strikers and a nicely finished seam where the jamb meets the quarter panel rather than a clear overlap and spot welds.

There are also several less-obvious, telltale signs that this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill pony car. For example, the back of the instrument cluster has “Henry Ford’s car” hand-written in marker and there’s a scatter shield bolted to the transmission tunnel. Under the hood is a high-performance K-code 289-cubic-inch V-8 that was not available on early 1965 Mustangs.

This car is just the first of many that Tom will highlight on his special trip through Detroit, so make sure to subscribe to Hagerty’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of the hidden gems of Motor City history.

Bullitt Reboot to be Directed by Steven Spielberg, Starring Bradley Cooper – Alexandra Purcell @FordAuthority

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Back in 1968, Steve McQueen led antagonists on a wild chase through the streets of San Francisco behind the wheel of an iconic green Ford Mustang for his role as detective Lieutenant Frank Bullitt in Bullitt. A modern reboot of the classic movie is on the horizon, set to be directed by Steven Spielberg and star Bradley Cooper in the titular role.

Details on the upcoming film are slim thus far, but it will be developed by Warner Brothers. The entertainment studio has stated that the new rendition of Bullitt will be “completely different” from the original. Cooper will produce the film alongside Spielberg, with Chad McQueen and Molly McQueen, Steve McQueen’s son and granddaughter, serving as executive producers. It’s not clear at this time when the movie could be released.

The Blue Oval has made several efforts to keep the “Bullitt” name synonymous with the Mustang over the last 54 years since the movie’s initial release. In the late 1960s, Ford released a more aggressive version of the first-generation Mustang to commemorate the film. The pony car’s 2008 model year lineup included another Bullitt-inspired Mustang that borrowed elements from the GT500 models, and a sixth-generation version returned for a brief production run in 2019. As previously reported by Ford Authority, the final Ford Mustang Bullitt rolled off the assembly line at the Flat Rock Assembly plant in late 2020.

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BREAKDOWN OF MUSTANG TRANSMISSIONS FROM 1979 TO PRESENT – @ModernDriveline

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SROD (SINGLE-RAIL OVERDRIVE)

The Single-Rail Overdrive, otherwise known as the SROD, is considered a “wide-ratio” 4-speed gearbox and features a smooth aluminum case with fully synchronized forward gears.
The reverse was left unsynchronized. The input shaft is a 10-spline while the output shaft is a 28-spline. On the VIN Door Tag, the Transmission Code is the number 6.
Because the SROD is unable to handle the increased horsepower, they are rarely seen being used in anything other than in a restored Ford Mustang.

Gear ratios for the SROD Mustang Manual Transmission are:

SROD GEAR RATIOS
Year……………………..	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Reverse
1979 To Early 1983	3.07	1.72	1.00	.70	3.07

The SROD can be found behind:

1979 Ford Mustang GT 5.0L V8
1982 to early 1983 Ford Mustang GT 5.0L V8

BORG WARNER/TREMEC T5

The venerable T5 Transmission is the longest-running transmission style used in the late model Mustang.
The heavily ribbed cast aluminum case serves as the home for fully synchronized 5 forward gears and reverse and features a 10-spline input shaft with a 28-spline output shaft.
There were many variations over the years, so stick with me here. 1983 1/2 to 1984 Mustang T5 manual transmission is called a Non-World Class, or NWC.
They are the least desirable of the V8 T5 manual transmissions as the gear metallurgy, synchronizer design, and bearing arrangement were based on old technology.

In the 1985 Mustang model year, the T5 was “upgraded” to a World-Class, or WC unit.
This added a much better synchronizer design, wide-ratio gearset, needle bearings for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd speed gears, and improved metallurgy throughout.
In 1989, the metallurgy was once again improved on the 2nd Speed Gear, 3rd Speed Gear, and Countershaft Cluster Gear.
The tooth pitch of 2nd and 3rd was revised for strength and the gear ratios were slightly altered. 1992 brought about a welcome upgrade in synchronizer facing material from organic to carbon fiber.
The reverse synchronizer assembly was also revised for better engagement.

In 1993, for the Cobra and Cobra R Mustang, the countershaft cluster gear received a special coating and the input bearing was upgraded from a Torrington style to a tapered roller bearing.
1994-1995 Mustang T5’s shared the same features as the Fox last variants, but the input shaft and input bearing retainer were a longer length.
1994-95 T5 will not fit Fox Mustang and 1983-93 T5 will not fit 1994-95 Mustangs without extensive modification.
1983-1989 Mustang T5 was equipped with a yellow 7-tooth speedometer drive gear and 1990-1995 Mustang T5 was equipped with a light green 8-tooth drive gear.
Gear ratios over the years for the Ford Mustang T5 are:

BORG WARNER/TREMEC T5 GEAR RATIOS
Year……………………..	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Reverse
1983 1/2	2.95	1.94	1.34	1.00	.73	2.76
1984	2.95	1.94	1.34	1.00	.68	3.15
1985-1988	3.35	1.93	1.29	1.00	.68	3.15
1989-1995	3.35	1.99	1.33	1.00	.68	3.15

The T5 can be found behind:

1983 to 1993 Ford Mustang LX and Mustang GT 5.0L V8
1993 Ford Mustang Cobra and Cobra R 5.0L V8
1994 to 1995 Ford Mustang GT and Cobra 5.0L V8

FORD RACING/TREMEC SUPER DUTY T5

This Mustang transmission justified its own mention due to its significance in the aftermarket as both a restoration and a performance part.
Basically, the T5 “Z” spec takes all the good updates and rolls them into one transmission.
The aluminum case is the latest revision and is the strongest offered on a production T5. Second, Third, and countershaft gears are all double moly.
All of the synchronizers are the latest revisions, with the 3rd and 4th featuring a carbon fiber facing. It has the 93 Cobra-style input pocket bearing and is already equipped with a steel input bearing retainer.
It has the standard-issue 10-spline 1-1/16 input shaft and 28-spline output shaft.
The speedometer drive gear is the desirable 7-tooth.
Gear ratios for the LRS-7003A Heavy Duty T5 Manual Transmission are:

FORD RACING/TREMEC SUPER DUTY T5 GEAR RATIOS
Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Reverse
1983-1993	2.95	1.94	1.34	1.00	.63	2.76

The Ford Racing M-7003-Z T5 is a direct bolt-in for:

1983 to 1993 Ford Mustang 5.0L V8

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The night of 1,000 Mustangs takes over Detroit for unveiling of seventh-generation pony car – William Hall @Hemmings

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Wednesday night’s reveal of the 2024 seventh-generation Ford Mustang kicked off the Detroit Auto Show in dramatic fashion. Not only did it introduce a new, sleek evolution of the iconic pony car in a festival setting at Hart Plaza, but it reset the standard for future vehicle introductions, particularly at the North American International Auto Show.

The lead up to the reveal was more than two weeks long, with the popular The Drive Home to The Mustang Stampede bringing at least one example of each of the six generations of Mustangs “home” to Detroit, along with a camouflaged seventh-generation prototype driven by the S650 Product Development Launch Leader Marty Mosakowski. Crossing more than 3,400 miles from its start in Tacoma, the tour invited Mustang enthusiasts from all across America to drive with the group for an hour, a day, or a week. Some diehard Mustang fanatics logged 1,000 miles or more to be a part of this historic event.

Mustangs from all eras filled the parking lot at Ford’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, for a sprawling Mustang lovefest prior to a police-led procession downtown for the reveal. Per Ford’s suggestion, many owners showed up in period costume, with the Sixties and Seventies styles most popular.

Joining the fun was the Allen family from Kansas City, Missouri. Sean Allen had owned a 1996 Mustang in college, and had been following the coverage of The Drive Home here on Hemmings. At 11 a.m. the previous day, he and his wife Caroline decided to have an adventure, and loaded up their seven kids – Israel, Carrianna, Olivia, Emily, Deborah, Sophia, and young Jackson – into their “Bustang GT” Ford Transit van, determined to catch up to our group. They arrived at 1 a.m. in Auburn, Indiana, only to find one hotel room available, prompting Sean to sleep in the van overnight. Arriving more than 750 miles later in Dearborn with their Transit playfully painted-up, the photogenic family quickly became one of the media darlings of the event.

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Seventh-generation Mustang prototype leads The Drive Home road trip to its official debut – William Hall @Hemmings

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No road trip really becomes official until you have a few hours of driving under your belt. So while Tuesday night’s cruise-in kickoff at the LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, was the official start of America’s Automotive Trust and the North American International Auto Show’s The Drive Home to The Mustang Stampede, it wasn’t until our 8 a.m. fire-drill start from Yakima that our trip began in earnest.

A contingent of Yakima-area Mustang owners had driven over the pass to the Tacoma launch party to escort us back to their home town. One of them was Captain Jeff Pfaff of the Yakima Fire Department in his white 2012 Boss 302. Captain Jeff left word with his colleagues at the Yakima Police Department, who put our hotel parking lot on their overnight patrol, allowing for a measure of comfort in our short sleep. Jeff is also a co-founder of Cars, Chrome and Coffee in Yakima, an inclusive event with emphasis on turning out young car enthusiasts. As we are finding out, passionate and helpful Mustang guys are all across this country.

Yakima Fire Captain and Mustang enthusiast Jeff Pfaff stops by for a morning chat.Photo by the author.

Joining us on the trip is one representative of each of the six generations of Ford Mustangs, along with the yet-unreleased Gen 7 car, wearing a thick armor of skunk works camouflage vinyl and prosthetics. Designed with a fair amount of science involved, the wrap was tested at Ford’s wind tunnel at 150 mph. The mimicked porthole opera windows, a nod to the iconic 1955 Thunderbird, were just the S650 production team having some fun.

The interior of the car is cloaked as well, and none of us are allowed inside. We get it. Keeping secrets has been a problem on the Gen 7 rollout, Ford’s biggest and most anticipated in years. First, pictures of the gauge cluster and interior were caught by Dearborn paparazzi, and images of the front end hit the internet. Then, the reveal at the Detroit Auto Show as leaked. “We’ve fired five people over this,” said S650 Launch Leader Marty Mosakowski. “Three (breaches) were accidental. Some engineers had to pull over in a Kroger parking lot to gather analytics, and raised up the cloak on the dash, and pics were snapped by industry spies. Two other in-house guys purposely took photos of the front end, and were caught on camera at our facility. Two hundred and fifty engineers attended a mandatory ‘stand down’ meeting, where camouflage policy was discussed and disciplinary actions reinforced. Secrecy has been a top priority on this project.

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